Variable angle target throwing apparatus



y 15, 1952 P. J. HEROLD 2,603,203

VARIABLE ANGLE TARGET THROWING APPARATUS Filed March 51, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

- P57: J. #52040. BY

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July 15, 1952 P. J. HEROLD VARIABLE ANGLE TARGET THROWING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 31, 1947 INVENTOR.

P17: #uaza y 15, 1952 P. J. HEROLD 2,603,203

VARIABLE ANGLE TARGET THROWING APPARATUS Filed March 31, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 EE'E 0 I39 0 I O '39 JNVENTOR.

P575 J. #52040, BY

H/J ,4 Tram 16.

July 15, 1952 P. J. HEROLD VARIABLE ANGLE TARGET THROWING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March 31, 1947 I INVEN TOR. fir/z- A2244;

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Patented July 15, 1952 VARIABLE ANGLE TARGET THROWING:

APPARATUS Pete I. Herold, San Francisco, Calif. Muriel v Herold, executrix of Pete I. Herold, deceased Application March 31, 1941, Serial No. 738,264,-

lg-Claims,- (Cl. iii-Lt) My invention relates to target-throwing ape paratus and more particularly of the type adapted for theesport of trap or skeet'shooting.

Among the objects of my invention are (1) To provide a novel andimproved apparatus for throwing targets. and designed for use in trap or skeet shooting;

(2) To provide a novel and improved targetthrowing apparatus adapted for the throwing of targets at random angles within a predetermined horizontal angular range;

(3) To provide a novel and improved targetthrowing apparatus, capable of being selectively utilized for either trap or skeet shooting;

(4) To provide a novel and improved targetthrowing apparatus capable of throwing targets in rapid succession;

-(5) To provide a novel and improved targetthrowing apparatus of relatively light weight capable of being readily assembled and disassembled for use at different locations. I

Additional objects of my invention will vbe brought out in the following description of a preferred embodiment of the same taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein- Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a targetthrowing apparatus embodying thev features of my present invention; a

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the machine or apparatus of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view taken in the plane 3 -3 of Figure2; I

Figure 4 is a view taken in the plane 4-4 of Figure2;

Figure 5 is a diagram showing the electric wiring or the cooperating electric components involved in the apparatus of the presentinvention;

Figures 6, 7, B and 9 are fragmentary views illustrating details of a magazine-loading feature embodied in the apparatus of the previous figures.

The present invention is a continuation-inpart of my pending application for Target Throwing Machine, Serial No. 498,992, filed August 1'7, 1943, now Patent No, 2,432,155.

Referring tothe drawings for a detailed description of my invention in a preferred form, it comprises a shallow circular housing I including a cover 3 and enclosing an impeller 5. This housing is provided with an edge slot 1 through which targets 9 may be thrown at fixed or random angles.

The housing is supported along the upper edges of a pair of plates II and i3 spaced in a common plane, by providing an angle beam 15 at; the upper end of each of such supporting plates on the same side thereof, and a crossbeam I! of the same type connecting the, two supporting plates on the other side thereon" The supporting plates are hinged at their lower' ends to a base l9 to permit tilting of the housing and impeller to any position within a wide .range of vertical angular positions. Such angular ad: justments may be indicated on a protractoril disposed on the base adjacent an edge ofone of saidsupporting plates such asplate H. 1

Maintenance of; the housing in an adjusted position is' provided'for by a pair of adjustable brackets 23, each involving a pair or overlapping plate sections 25 and 21, one of which is hinged to the upper portion of one of the housing supportin Plates with the other hingedly secured to the base. A manually operable clamp 29 serves in its clamping position, to hold the bracket. sections against relative movement and thus rigidify the bracket following adjustment of the housing and impeller to a desired vertical angle. The, impeller 5 includes a disc vEH having an upstanding spiral-arranged flange 33 of .a single convolution having its center of generation, at the center of the disc and terminating in a substantially straight portion as it approaches the edge of the disc, though a slight reverse curve as it approaches the edge is preferred. The flange as thus arranged, defines a central target-loading area 35.bounded in, part by an exit gatewa The flange 33 is preferably lined with suitable shock absorbing material 3 8 such as. rubberi, felt; etc., to protect the fragile targets against break.-

age.

The impeller disc is carried. on the upper end of a drive shaft 39 which extends downwardnbetween the supportingplates H, l3 and is mounted in a pair of spaced bearingsa tl and .4'3,ione of which isafilxed to the aforementioned cross beam motor with a driven pulley 51 on the impeller shaft. v .7 V &

A counterbalancing weight: .58; aflixed to, the

thesupp rttins spiral,

3 underside of the impeller disc opposite the spiral flange, serves to counterbalance the weight of the flange and thus minimize vibration which might otherwise develop.

Targets placed on the impeller under the con- 7 may be discharged, while retaining the advantage lower operating voltage thus derived is to be.pre-

' 90 is closed, and these are the only conditions of having the target emerge from the impeller I housing at random angles; I provide a target brake 59, preferably one operated by a solenoid SI, and located on the impeller disc at the exit I gateway of the spiral-arranged flange, .whereby a target placed at loading position within the will be precluded from moving out through the gateway under the centrifugal action of thewhirling impeller disc. I

The brake: solenoid is connected in an electricaljv circuit under the control of an operator who will stand at some strategic position with respect to the contestants so that he might time target releases in accordance with the desires of contestants. g 7 Such circuit will include a pair of commutators 63 and 65 having similar" numbers of contactsstructurally speaking, the one commutator 6 3 may be of the automobile ignition type invol vlng a plurality of circularly arranged contacts 61 and a centrally disposed rotatable contactor 6 9. v

j This-commutator is supported on a bracket 1! affixed to the supporting plate I3, and is driven from the impeller shaft by any suitable drive means such as a belt 13 connecting a pulley 15 on the impeller shaft with a'pulley Hon the commutator shaft on which the contactor 69 is mounted. V

The' 'second commutator B5 is preferably in the form of a disc 19 of insulation such as Bakelite, such disc having the required number of contacts 8| preferably imbedded therein. The disc is mounted on the shelf provided by the cross beam I! as by a pair of machine screws 83 extending through adjustment slots85, and

has a central opening for passage of the impeller shaft 39- with suitable clearance. The floor of the impeller chamber is provided with a large central opening to permit of the mounting of the disc of insulation as described. The contacts of this commutator are adapted to be sequentially contacted by a contactor 8'! carried onthe under side of the impeller disc. LA'ringor circular wall 89 depending from the impeller disc and encircling the commutator disc 19 cooperates with the impeller disc to form a housing'to protect the contacts 8| and associated contactor 81 from damage or excessive dust accumulation.

In connecting the commutators in circuit, the corresponding'contacts of bothcommutators are connected together. *The contactor 69 of the bracket mounted ignition type commutator is connected to one side of a power source through a manually closable switch 90, while the contactor 81 of the impeller associated commutator is connected through the brake solenoid 6| to the other or grounded side of the power source. Such source of power is preferably the secondary winding 9| of a step-down transformer 93 connected to an available power circuit 95 of 110 volts orthe like through a main switch 91. The

under which a target can-be released from the impeller.

Such energization of the target brake solenoid can bearranged to occur within a single revolution of the impeller following a closing of the manually operated switch, by setting the relative rotational speeds of the commutator contactors so that the impeller-mounted contactor completes a revolution at least'once during the passage of the other contactor over each one of its contacts. The rotationalspeed of the impellermounted contactor being a function of the impeller rotation, its speed will necessarily be determined by the rotational speed of the impeller which is necessary to cast targets a predetermined distance and at desired angular elevations. Consequently, as a matter of convenience, the rotational speed of the other contactor will be adjusted to arrive at the desired speed ratio of the contactors of both commutators.

Such ratio is not critical, for minor departures therefrom will still bring about simultaneous contacting of corresponding contacts within a momentary period of time.

It is noted at this time and considered a feature of this invention, that the contacts of the impeller commutator are bunched to occupy a minor portion of the commutator disc circumference and are so disposedas a group, that discharge of targets will occur within a predetermined angle, such as QOdegrees, and within the are bounded by the slot in the impeller housing. Within these limits, a target can emerge from the housing at any one of a number of angles, depending upon the particular contact through which the target brake solenoid happens to be energized. f

The commutator 63 thus selects the angle upon momentary closing of the manually controlled switch 90, whilethe impeller associated commutator 65 times the release of the target brake to assure discharge at such selected angle.

Inasmuch as the energizing contacts will be determined at the moment the manually operated switch is closed, the angle selected will be a random angle within the prescribed limits. Thus. the operator has the power to time the throw but'not its specific direction.

Themanually operable switch is preferably of the push-button or toggle type whereby an operator by a momentary closing of the switch, may limit the operation of the apparatus to the throwing of a single target. In view of the fact that the commutators are always in operation, the throwing of such a target will occur almost immediately upon the closing of such switch. Thus, the machine may be made to throw targets as often and as fast as the operator can produce momentary closing of the switch.

-, In this connection, I have illustrated in Figures 5, 6, '7, 8 and 9 details of an automatic target- 'loading means such as has been illustrated and described in my earlier filed application, Serial No, 498,992, now Patent Number 2,432,155, but

with slight: but: important improvements-em.-

bodiedthereim The automatic loading: means. referred to. in-

volvesamagazine. $9 for holding; a plurality of stacks of. targets, suchmagazine. being mounted a on: the upper surface of the. impeller housingwith one end located over but. preferably slightly offset with respect to the target-loading area. of the impeller;

'Iihis endof the magazine: has. a. trap doorin the floor thereof formed of. a pair of: slidable panels IDI. and H33 adapted, through. interconnecting linkage (not shown), to. separate in re- .Sponse to movement of one of, the panels. Such movement may be initiated. through energization of the. apparatus are .interconnected ;to provide the proper cooperation. among them, is depicted of. a-solenoid IE against. the restoring. action. of a spring IE! tending; to hold the-trap door: panels in closed position.

- The'stacks of targets are placeduponapair of runways {$9 disposed in the magazine and: are normally held out of pressure contact withtne stack which is being dispensed, by apa-ir of stops III each including an arcuate arm,.I.:I3. These stops are hingedly mounted in opposite. walls of the magazine, with the arcuate arms substantially tangential to the first reserve stack of targets. A light spring II! on each stop hinge tends to bias its associated stop-inwardly to stop position, as determined by a limiter element H9 on such stop, but, such springs are purposely made too light to restrain movement of reserve stacks toward the dispensing and of the magazine, particularly when the impeller is in tilted position as it usually will be when in use. H desired, a rolling weight (not shown) may be placed in the magazine behind. the last stack to aid in such feeding operation. v

Coasting with springs III to restrain movement of reserve stacks is a u-shaped operating lever I2 i extending around the end of the magazine and pivoted to the sides thereof with its trough end. I 23 supported over a solenoid I25 and its free ends adapted to drop into corresponding notches I21 in the upper edges of the arcuate arms I I3 to hold the stops against outward movement. These free ends are preferably weighted with weights I29 to assure positive-action in this regard. V

The solenoid !25 is connectable in circuit through a normally open switch I3 I One contact of such switch is mounted on a leaf spring 133 aflixed to the inner end wall of the magazine and extending under the lower edge of the magazine through a notch I provided therein for the pur pose. Upon exhausting all targets. from a stack being dispensed, the switch, normally held wide open by such targets, is permitted to restore itself to its normal open condition with its: contacts closer to each other. In so doing. however, the inertia initially. imparted to the leaf spring, causes it to swingbeyondits normal position and momentarily close the switch and for a brief fraction of a second thus energize the solenoid. The free ends of the lever are therebvli'fted to free the stops and. permit them to swing out as a, reserve stack of targets passes through, the lever I2I in the meantime riding on the upper edges of the arcuate arms I I3.

Each arcuate arm is provided with a notch I34 at its upper inside corner to receive the lever I'ZI when the stops I I i are manually swung outwardly slightly beyond the outward position reached during the automatic feeding of stacks to dispensin'g position. This permits loading of the magazine without interference from these ele- 'ments.

ply stand. I4 I.

in Figure '5 in conjunction with a field. layout: for

trap shooting.

The shooters stand is indicated. as an 'arcu'ate platform. I3], with. several shooting positions in.- dicated by the circles I39, and adjacent each suchrposition thereiis. provided a cartridge'i'sup Toone. side of the shooters stand, is "the operator'and score-lreeperpositi'on I43 which when .employing my invention, may" be. handled by 'oneperson. The operatorin addition tohistiming switch 90, is also provided with a manually operable switch I44 in the main line to the transformer whereby he may disconnedt the apparatus, including 'the. -motor, .duringisuoh periods when shooting is not 'takingxplace. i

The solenoid I25- which operates the stop corrtrol lever is connected across the low-voltage side of the transformer 93 through the normally open leaf spring switch'I3I whereby the moving of a fresh stack of targets into loading position will occur automatically and without requiring the attention of the. operator.

Thetrap door solenoid I05, however, is-prefdischarge or a target from the apparatus, the

trap doors will openand promptly deposit a fresh.

target upon the impeller in preparationfo'r the,

next closing of the timing switch.

As an added feature of the present invention,

I provide an announcementlight I49 underthe control of the operator whereby he might indicate by the hash of such light, that a shooter has scored a hit. It has been the practice in the past that when a shooter failed to hit the target, the

scorer would call out, Lost, and. if the shooter.'. hit the target the scorer announced,- Dead. Due to the noise of others shooting 'attrapslorcated nearby, or due to the fact-that the scorer did not announce plainly or loud enough, or the shooter was hard of hearing,.the shooter often did not know exactly how thetarget was scored. V

In utilizing a flashlamp for. the purpose, the lamp. could be located within range of vision of the contestants, and thereafter no difficulty woi1 ld be experienced in informingthe various contestants as to the success of their endeavors.

Furthermore, in special and important matches, a referee is often employed in addition to the .usual score keeper. With the use of a flash lamp circuit, this will allow the referee to stand apart from the one that records the scores and in a position where he can best observe the. flight. of the targets. The results realized by the various cone k atxtne 7 testants can then be fiashed not only torthe contestants but also to the score-keeper who would just have to watch the flash lampinstead of trying tofollow the targets in flight.

.In the apparatus as described, targets are thrown at random angles within a substantial arc, which may be of the order of 90 degrees. For a beginner, it might often be desirable to reduce such are and this can readily be accomplished in the machine or apparatus constituting the present invention, by merely disconnecting one or more of the end contacts on one of mutators. r While for trap shooting, the targets are thrown at random angles, in skeet shooting, the targets are-thrown at one known angleonly. To convert the apparatus of the present'invention'from use as in trap shooting to apparatus'adapted for skeet'shooting, becomes a very simple .matter, .for all that is necessary is to shunt out the bracket-mounted commutator by'a connection from the operators control switch 90 to one of the contacts on the impeller-associated commutator. With this simple change, the apparatus will throw targets at one angle only,. that is, as viewed in'a horizontal plane. The angle of elethe comvation at which the target maybe thrown may I 'chips or'broken targets will be readily swept from the impeller chamber without delay or injury to the apparatus.

Accordingly, while I have described such preferred embodiment in considerable detail, I do not desire to be limited in my protection to such detail except as may be necessitated by the appended claims. 1

..I claim:

l,.In.a target-throwing apparatus having imsaid impeller means, and releasable means for holding a target on said impeller means against discharge therefrom; means for releasing the target from said impeller means at some random angle within a predetermined angular range, said releasing means including a manually operable controlcomprising a switch; an angle selector operative as such in response to a momentary closing of such switch, said angle selector comprising a commutator and contactor relatively and continuously rotatable, said commutator connected in circuit with said switch andreleasing means and having angle determining. contacts contactable by said contactor during the closing of such switch and said relative rotation being at an angular velocity such that each contact is contacted during substantially a complete revolution of said impeller means; andmeans for timing said release in accordance with the'contact of said angle selector engaged during momentary closure of said switch to effect discharge of said target at the angle selected, said last means com-:

prising a commutatorhaving a like number of contacts as said angle selector commutator and an .angular velocity the same as said impeller,

said contacts being connected in series with corresponding contacts of said angle selector commutator and grouped to effect release of such target at particular assigned angles when a particular contacted angle selector contact and its corresponding contact on said second commutator are simultaneously contacted'during such momentary closing of said switch.

2. A target-throwing apparatus having an impeller means for throwing targets, means for continuously rotating said impeller means, and means for holding a target on said impeller means against dischargetherefrom; electrical means for releasing said target from said holding means, said electrical releasing means including a pair of commutators having like numbers of operatingcontacts with the corresponding contacts electrically connected together in series, means for engaging each contact of one commutator in sequence for a period of time approximating the period of one revolution of said impeller means, means driven by said impeller means for electrically successively engaging all the contacts of the second of said commutators in the same time period, and a manually operable control adapted to complete a series circuit through said releasing means and said commutators when corresponding contacts of said commutators are simultaneously contacted, said circuit including a switch actuated by said manual control.

3. A target-throwing apparatus having ashallow circular housing with a slot opening in the edge thereof through which targets are to be thrown, impeller means'within said housing for throwing such targets, means for continuously rotating said impeller means in said housing, and

, means for holding a target on said impeller means 'lpeller means, means for continuously rotating against discharge therefrom; electrical means for retracting said holding means to release a target from said impeller means, said electrical means including a, pair of commutators having like numbers of operating contacts with the corresponding contacts electrically connected together in series, meansfor electrically engaging each contact-of one commutator in sequence for a period of time approximating the period of one revolution of said impeller means, means driven by said impeller means for electrically engaging all the contacts of the second of said commutators in the same time period, and a manually operable control adapted to complete a series circuit through said retracting means and said commutators when corresponding contacts of said commutators are simultaneously contacted, said circuit including a switch actuated by said manual control.

4. A target-throwing apparatus having a shallow circular housing with a slot opening in the edge thereof through which targets are to be thrown, impellerv means within said housing for throwing such targets, means for continuously rotating said impeller means in said housing, and means for holding a target on said impeller means against discharge therefrom, and electrical means for retracting said holding means to release a target from said impeller means at some random angle .within the angle bounded by said slot openmg only, said electrical means including a pair of commutators having like numbers of operating contacts,,with the corresponding contacts electrically connected together in series; means for electrically engaging eachcontact of one commutator in sequence for a period of time approximating the period of 'one revolution of said impeller means, means driven by said impeller means for electrically engaging all the contacts of the second of said commutators successively in the same time period, and a manually operable control adapted to complete a series circuit including a switch actuated by said manual control through said electrical releasing means and. said commutators when corresponding contacts of said. commutators are simultaneously contacted, said second commutator having its contacts grouped to assure discharge within the angle bounded by said slot.

PETE J. HEROLD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Damm June 29, 1886 Troutner Dec. 2, 1902 Spangler Feb. 22,1916 Adams Apr. 4, 1916 Blair Nov. 19, 1918 Winans Dec. 8, 1936 Kemp Dec. 23, 1941 

